Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 10:50 PM.

Instead – with the standing-room Crestview gym chanting his name – it was Ronnie Baylark's turn to embrace the spotlight.

The 6-foot-2 senior stepped to the foul line with two seconds and buried a pair of free throws to break a 65-all tie with Lincoln, lifting the Bulldogs to a 67-65 Region 1-7A semifinal win and into the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.

"I wasn't nervous," said Baylark, who split a pair of defenders on his way to the post before getting hacked just right of the basket. "I shoot free throws all the time. I knew I would make them."

And so did Crestview head coach Greg Watson, who has watched his 23-6 team win three straight down-to-the wire games. The first two came on Ware buzzer beaters, the first against Niceville in the District 1-7A title game and the second against Leon in the regional quarterfinals.

"This is giving me some gray hair at a young age," said Watson, whose team buried 15 of 20 free throws in the final eight minutes of play. "... Ronnie stepped up and made two big ones when it mattered and that's what good players do."

The same confidence was echoed in Ware, who surprisingly didn't touch the ball on the final drive despite coming up clutch in the previous two wins.

"They fouled Ronnie and he's a good free throw shooter, so I knew we had won the game," said Ware, who had 11 points and was six for seven at the line in the final quarter.

But it wasn't until a last second 3-point heave from Javaughn Powell, who led all scorers with 31, fell well short did Crestview have the heart-stopping victory in hand.

"(Powell) just put his head down and made a lot of plays in the fourth quarter," Watson said.

But he couldn't make the one shot that mattered most, and when his prayer from the right wing drew nothing but air the standing-room only venue erupted and stormed the court.

"I'm just happy for our players, but also for the community," Watson said. "You can see just the pride here at Crestview. It's just awesome and I'm just excited for them and our players."

For Ware, he'd never seen such excitement surrounding a program on the cusp of its first Final Four appearance in 27 years.

"It's the best," Ware said. "I've never seen that many people here all four years of high school. It's great winning in front of a big crowd like this."

If he thought Tuesday brought in a giant crowd, Saturday's Region 1-7A Final against Oviedo in Crestview is sure to provide an encore.

"I'm looking forward to it," said Baylark, who scored 16 points. "We just have to go back to the gym and grind. That's all it is."

His last-second heroics followed a Kameron Mack leaner in the lane to knot the score with 13 seconds later. What ensued was a frantic finish where the ball was knocked around past midcourt before settling into the hands of Baylark.

"I was in a situation where I didn't know whether to call timeout," Watson said. "But we had numbers and we were pushing it and the ball got tipped around. And Ronnie did a great. He took it to the rack and almost got an And-1."

Joining Baylark in the spotlight was Jerry Aaron, who scored a team-high 22 points.

The senior hit high-arcing 3s, drove the lane with ease and buried leaners in the post en route to a 10 first-quarter points to lift the Bulldogs to a 21-13 lead headed into the second quarter. After Crestview led 32-25 at halftime, the 6-2 senior would tack on eight more in the third quarter to give the Bulldogs a 46-39 advantage headed into the final eight minutes of play.

But Lincoln's half-court traps baffled Crestview, which had 18 turnovers and allowed the lead to get within 55-54 with under four minutes to play. But Ware and Ladonte King knocked down four straight free throws and Crestview never trailed with their unflinching strength at the charity stripe.

"To a credit to us, I don't know how many free throws we took but we made most of them," Watson said.

A late trey by Powell and Mack's basket in the post brought Lincoln all the way back, but Baylark was the latest to step up in Crestview's magical postseason run.

Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published
without permission. Links are encouraged.

Instead – with the standing-room Crestview gym chanting his name – it was Ronnie Baylark's turn to embrace the spotlight.

The 6-foot-2 senior stepped to the foul line with two seconds and buried a pair of free throws to break a 65-all tie with Lincoln, lifting the Bulldogs to a 67-65 Region 1-7A semifinal win and into the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.

"I wasn't nervous," said Baylark, who split a pair of defenders on his way to the post before getting hacked just right of the basket. "I shoot free throws all the time. I knew I would make them."

And so did Crestview head coach Greg Watson, who has watched his 23-6 team win three straight down-to-the wire games. The first two came on Ware buzzer beaters, the first against Niceville in the District 1-7A title game and the second against Leon in the regional quarterfinals.

"This is giving me some gray hair at a young age," said Watson, whose team buried 15 of 20 free throws in the final eight minutes of play. "... Ronnie stepped up and made two big ones when it mattered and that's what good players do."

The same confidence was echoed in Ware, who surprisingly didn't touch the ball on the final drive despite coming up clutch in the previous two wins.

"They fouled Ronnie and he's a good free throw shooter, so I knew we had won the game," said Ware, who had 11 points and was six for seven at the line in the final quarter.

But it wasn't until a last second 3-point heave from Javaughn Powell, who led all scorers with 31, fell well short did Crestview have the heart-stopping victory in hand.

"(Powell) just put his head down and made a lot of plays in the fourth quarter," Watson said.

But he couldn't make the one shot that mattered most, and when his prayer from the right wing drew nothing but air the standing-room only venue erupted and stormed the court.

"I'm just happy for our players, but also for the community," Watson said. "You can see just the pride here at Crestview. It's just awesome and I'm just excited for them and our players."

For Ware, he'd never seen such excitement surrounding a program on the cusp of its first Final Four appearance in 27 years.

"It's the best," Ware said. "I've never seen that many people here all four years of high school. It's great winning in front of a big crowd like this."

If he thought Tuesday brought in a giant crowd, Saturday's Region 1-7A Final against Oviedo in Crestview is sure to provide an encore.

"I'm looking forward to it," said Baylark, who scored 16 points. "We just have to go back to the gym and grind. That's all it is."

His last-second heroics followed a Kameron Mack leaner in the lane to knot the score with 13 seconds later. What ensued was a frantic finish where the ball was knocked around past midcourt before settling into the hands of Baylark.

"I was in a situation where I didn't know whether to call timeout," Watson said. "But we had numbers and we were pushing it and the ball got tipped around. And Ronnie did a great. He took it to the rack and almost got an And-1."

Joining Baylark in the spotlight was Jerry Aaron, who scored a team-high 22 points.

The senior hit high-arcing 3s, drove the lane with ease and buried leaners in the post en route to a 10 first-quarter points to lift the Bulldogs to a 21-13 lead headed into the second quarter. After Crestview led 32-25 at halftime, the 6-2 senior would tack on eight more in the third quarter to give the Bulldogs a 46-39 advantage headed into the final eight minutes of play.

But Lincoln's half-court traps baffled Crestview, which had 18 turnovers and allowed the lead to get within 55-54 with under four minutes to play. But Ware and Ladonte King knocked down four straight free throws and Crestview never trailed with their unflinching strength at the charity stripe.

"To a credit to us, I don't know how many free throws we took but we made most of them," Watson said.

A late trey by Powell and Mack's basket in the post brought Lincoln all the way back, but Baylark was the latest to step up in Crestview's magical postseason run.